


Cookies and Friends and Christmas

by NikAdair



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Christmas Decorating, Christmas Party, early morning baking, family and friends hanging out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21956647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikAdair/pseuds/NikAdair
Summary: Christmas had always been a big thing for Lance and Hunk, especially while they were in college. Plane tickets home were expensive, and neither wanted to drive the 12+ hours to get there. So they’d always celebrate it in their own way, and when they met Keith, that didn’t change. In fact, over the few years that Keith had known them, it seemed that Christmas had become one of the most important things they did.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Cookies and Friends and Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This is my exchange piece for Sachiela on Tumblr for the VLD Secret Santa 2019 event. I hope you enjoy!! Merry Christmas!!

Christmas had always been a big thing for Lance and Hunk, especially while they were in college. Plane tickets home were expensive, and neither wanted to drive the 12+ hours to get there. So they’d always celebrate it in their own way, and when they met Keith, that didn’t change. In fact, over the few years that Keith had known them, it seemed that Christmas had become one of the most important things they did.

-.-.-

Keith woke up that morning to the dull hum of the mixer and Christmas music filtering in through the cracked door. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes. His body still felt heavy, and he wondered what the time was. “Gah!” Keith said, turning on his phone screen, having forgotten to turn down the brightness from the night before.

After blinking a few times, waking up more and blinking away the spots in his vision, he was able to read the screen. 6:17am. On a Saturday. “Who wakes up this early on a Saturday?” he muttered to himself, dropping his phone on the bed. Where Lance should’ve been.

He turned his head, seeing the other side empty and unkempt, but cold, meaning Lance hadn’t been there for a while. “Alright, correction, who wakes up before 6 on a Saturday?” Keith swung his legs over the side of the bed, instantly regretting his decision as the cold wood floors mixed with the cool air of the room shocked his body, causing him to gasp and shiver.

An executive decision was made, and Keith made his way to the kitchen with the comforter wrapped around his body and socks on his feet. He’d worry about pants later. He had to see what was going on at 6 in the morning on a Saturday.

As soon as he turned the corner, he was hit with a wall of cinnamon and vanilla. Hunk and Lance were on the other side of the kitchen, several mixing bowls and pans spread across the counter. The radio they kept on top of the microwave was on, the tinny Christmas music fighting with the sound of the mixer. Keith settled into one of the stools at the island, watching the pair.

He had to admit that waking up to not only the scents of Christmas, but also to the two most important boys in his life was definitely preferred over waking up to an alarm. Granted it just marginally made being up this early worth it, but worth it nonetheless. Keith watched them, going unnoticed where he sat, watching them spoon various types of cookie dough onto pans, until Lance turned and nearly dropped his pan when he saw Keith sitting there.

“Keith, jeez, say something next time!” Lance said, placing the pan on the island while the other clutched at his chest. Keith started laughing, and Hunk turned to look at them, trying to hide his laughter. Lance, however, wasn’t having it. “This isn’t funny! Do you know how long I spent making sure this batter was perfect?? Too long Keith! Too damn long!”

Keith wiped at the tears that had started to form, taking a breath. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t be up so damn early baking. Some of us like to sleep in on the weekend.” Lance opened and closed his mouth, trying and failing to come up with some remark. Hunk shook his head, finally letting himself laugh, and he walked over, wrapping an arm around Lance’s shoulders.

“Well, it seems Mr. Bedhead has us beat there. But, some of us also like to be prepared for Christmas parties,” Hunk said, Lance starting to look triumphant. Keith’s shoulders fell as he quickly stood, walking to the calendar. Sure enough, written in red pen were the words ‘CHRISTMAS PARTY’. He groaned, his head falling forward.

“That’s today, isn’t it?” he muttered, turning back to the others. Lance nodded, beaming at him while Hunk reached around him and took the pan. He walked to the oven, placing it and a couple other pans full of batter in it, heat radiating from the open door.

“Yes, it is. It’s why we’re up so early. We were going to let you sleep a few more hours, but since you’re up, how about you start decorating the place?” Hunk said, folding his arms over his chest. Keith gave him a displeased look, and Hunk laughed. “I’ll make breakfast.” A bribe, but one that Keith could never refuse. Hunk was just too good at cooking.

He agreed, walking back to his room. “I guess if I’m decorating I gotta put pants on,” he muttered, tossing the comforter on the bed. He shivered at the loss of heat and was quick to find a pair of sweats. Keith contemplated if it was worth it to wear a hoodie, but knew that all the moving would make him overheat in one, so he decided against it.

When he walked back to the kitchen, Lance and Hunk were still busy with their baking, but he could smell black coffee over the cinnamon and vanilla. That was going to be the only thing keeping him going throughout the morning. He moved beyond it to the storage closet at the end of the hall.

In it were various boxes and totes, neatly stacked by what was inside them: a stack with old pictures from all of their adventures, as well as family ones that they didn’t have space for; a stack with Halloween decorations. Admittedly, Keith was the reason they had that stack. If Lance and Hunk would get a stack for Christmas decorations, then he only thought it fair that he got a stack for Halloween decorations.

But it didn’t compare to the ever growing stack of Christmas boxes. It was a third bigger than the Halloween stack, several boxes and totes filled with lights and garland and baubles and other various things. Keith sighed, pulling boxes off the top of the stack and shoving them into the hall. He was already feeling too hot by the time all the boxes, excluding the tree, were in the hall.

He took advantage of the carpet and slid them across the floor, making a train of boxes and pushing them into the living room. For as many boxes as there were, their already small living room felt almost crowded, and he had to stack a few boxes on the couch in order to have room to move around.

“Remind me again why we have so many boxes?” he yelled to the boys in the kitchen. All he got was laughter in response, which in of itself wasn’t much of a response. “They’re lucky I love them.” He walked back down the hall, standing in the doorway as he stared at the tree. “Where the hell am I going to put you? I guess I’ll figure that out later.”

Keith pulled the box out from behind another stack of boxes, and nearly knocked them over as he clipped the edge of the stack. He practically leapt into the closet to catch them, tripping over the tree. His foot caught the corner of the box, and he cursed as pain shot through it. “You okay in there?” Hunk yelled. Keith made some sort of reassuring noise, gritting his teeth through the pain.

“Damn box,” he mumbled, settling the stack before going back to getting the tree out. This time he decided to push it out of the closet, being careful to not catch it on the doorframe. With everything out of the closet, he closed it, making his way back to the living room. He left the tree in the hall, knowing that there wasn’t going to be space in the living room for it yet.

Instead, he started sifting through boxes, setting aside the ones that held ornaments and baubles for later. His first job was setting up the lights. He pulled a strand out of the tote, plugging it in to make sure it still worked before setting them up. One went around the windows, another around the doorway. A third ended up running along the floor, and the room was soon lit with soft white light. It was almost ethereal looking, and Keith took a moment to appreciate how it looked.

His next task was the garland. This was always a tricky thing to set up because he never knew where to put it. Keith looked around the room, and settled on wrapping it around the lamp they had in the corner. He wrapped it up the pole, looping it at the top, and bringing it back down. He plugged it in, colours coming to life in the greenery. “Not too shabby.”

A couple wreaths went up around the room -- one above the TV, another above the couch. He didn’t feel like putting up the others, but left one out to put on their door. He pulled out the little statues they had -- reindeer and snowmen and Santas -- and placed them on the end tables and the bookshelf.

The last thing to go up was the mistletoe. That one he would wait to put. He set it on the coffee table and rid the living room of the empty boxes and totes. He pulled the tree in, still trying to figure out where to put it. 

“The obvious answer is to put it in the corner by the window.” Keith jumped, turning to see Lance standing in the doorway. He walked into the room, wrapping an arm around Keith’s waist. “This looks really beautiful,” he whispered. Keith shook his head but smiled, feeling a little proud of his work. “Come on, I’ll help you get it set up.”

Thankfully the tree was only split into three pieces, so it was pretty simple to set up. Unfortunately, since it had to be stored in a box, that meant that the branches were all closed, so they had to spend the time opening them and fluffing them tree. It may not have taken them more than ten minutes, but it felt like forever, having to meticulously position each extension in just the right place so that there weren’t any gaps in the tree.

-.-.-

“Alright, I’m taking a break,” Keith declared, falling onto his back when they finished. Lance followed suit, sighing as they sank into the cushions. Keith heard dishes clinking together, and he turned his head towards the hallway, seeing Hunk walk in with three plates in one arm and three mugs in the other.

“Thought you boys could use some sustenance,” Hunk said, placing the plates on the coffee table. Keith and Lance immediately perked back up, making room for Hunk to sit before grabbing a plate each. The mugs were set in front of their respective people -- cinnamon hot chocolate for Lance, chai tea for Hunk, and black coffee with a bit of vanilla extract and sweetener.

But the main event was the food: scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Not just any pancake, though. No, these were Hunk’s famous chocolate chip pancakes. They were cooked to perfection -- golden brown with melty chocolate chips interspersed, chocolate sauce drizzled on top and dots of whipped cream with a few more chocolate chips on top. They were reserved for special occasions, and Keith would agree that today was one.

“Hunk, I don’t know how you do it, but you always seem to know exactly what to make,” Lance said around a mouthful of pancake. Hunk shook his head, swatting at Lance’s arm.

“Chew with your mouth closed! No one wants to see that!” Lance made a show of chewing obnoxiously before Hunk threatened to take his pancakes away. Lance curled around them, instantly closing his mouth. Keith laughed at them, taking a bite of his own. He sighed happily, sinking back into the couch a little.

They spent a good while eating and soaking in the Christmas feel of the room. They were quiet while they ate, not really wanting to say anything. The moment felt magical, in a way. The only light came from the lights strung along the walls, and the radio was still on in the kitchen, filtering into the living room. It was warm, comforting, sitting on their too small couch, all of them just admiring the room. Granted the tree had yet to be decorated. But they didn’t care. Not in that moment.

Keith glanced at the clock, finding that it was a little after eight, and he leaned back, holding his coffee. The warmth was nice, and he enjoyed the way the coffee scent mixed with that of the vanilla. It reminded him of winter days when he and Shiro would sit around eating cookies and watching bad Christmas movies while they waited for Adam to show up. Back before he started celebrating Christmas with Lance and Hunk.

He must have started to fall asleep, cause he felt Hunk nudging him, trying to take the mug from him. Keith sat up, shaking his head, knowing that his bed head was getting more knotted. “I’m awake, I promise,” he said, clutching his coffee.He blinked a few times, taking a long drink. “We should finish decorating.”

Hunk gathered the empty plates, muttering something about Lance’s obsession with pools of syrup, and Lance stood, pulling Keith to his feet. He set his mug on the table and, together, they pulled the last few boxes towards the tree. The first dilemma was the lights this year.

“Do we want white lights? Rainbow lights? Or yellow?” Keith asked, rifling through the light strings. Lance leaned over him, humming.

“I think we should go with yellow to match the rest of the room.” Keith nodded, pulling out the bundle. He tossed them up to Lance, who caught them and plugged them in, making sure they still worked. A few stayed dark, but not enough to be a nuisance. He unplugged them, handing Keith the end.

Keith stood close to the tree and Lance took the rest, walking around the tree as the lights unraveled and clung to the branches. Keith caught Lance as he started to sway as he neared the top. “Thanks babe,” he whispered, leaning against his chest. Keith smiled, holding steady as he finished.

It was nice, standing like this. Familiar, almost homely. He didn’t really want to let go, but he knew that if they stood there, he would start falling asleep. Keith let himself have a few more seconds of this before he let go, pulling out boxes of baubles and ornaments. He made the decision to go with a simple tree this year -- red and silver and gold baubles, and a few of the more important ornaments.

Thankfully, most of them still had their hooks on them, so they were easily transferred to the tree. Keith rehooked the ones that were missing their’s, passing them to Lance. They glittered and twinkled as the light hit them, and it was a little mesmerising. Like waking up and seeing freely fallen snow on the ground sparkling in the morning sun.

It really was beautiful to see. It truly felt like Christmas with everything set up and with the smell of cookies wafting throughout the apartment. Keith pulled out the star, moving past Lance to set it on the tree. It wasn’t anything flashy, gold outlining the different edges, the rest a clear plastic. There were small strands of fairy lights on the inside that could be turned on from a switch on the back. It fit the theme of the tree well.

“Hey Hunk, you wanna take a look at the tree?” Lance called, stepping back to stand next to Keith. Hunk walked over to them, drying his hands.

“It looks amazing,” he said. Keith laughed a little, knowing that Hunk wasn’t very good with words, so the comment was his way of saying ‘This looks amazing but I can’t articulate how amazing it looks’.

With the tree finished, the apartment was decorated, and Keith yawned, stretching a little. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m taking a nap.” He heard Hunk and Lance laugh as he walked past them back to his room. He didn’t bother with setting an alarm, knowing Lance would wake him, and he fell face first onto the bed. He pulled the comforter around his body and fell asleep.

-.-.-

Keith woke up around 3pm to the smell of coffee sitting next to him. He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and saw a steaming mug sitting on the side table. He turned and saw Lance at the desk, headphones, some show playing on his laptop. He was sitting with one leg stretched out on the desk, the other bent and sitting on the chair. Lance hadn’t noticed Keith had woken up.

He snuck out of bed, staying to Lance’s backside, and crept over to him. He may not have been able to hear the show, but by the scene that was playing, something big was happening. Keith waited until a door was thrown open in the show before wrapping his arms around Lance. Lance jumped and screamed, ripping his headphones off.

“Keith, what the hell?” Lance said, spinning around to glare at Keith. Keith was doubled over laughing, tears springing to his eyes. He heard the bedroom door open and glanced up to see Hunk standing in the doorway, a wild look in his eyes.

“What the hell is going on?” Hunk said, and Keith started laughing harder. Hunk looked at Lance and they both looked at Keith like he was crazy. 

It took Keith a minute to calm down enough to breathe and talk. He wiped the tears from his eyes and took one breath before walking back to bed, sitting on the still warm sheets as he took a drink of his coffee, looking at the other boys innocently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, his voice scratchy from sleep and laughter.

Lance glared at him for a moment longer before shaking his head, closing his laptop and joining him on the bed. Hunk shook his head and walked out, but not before Keith saw the faintest hint of a smile. “You’re evil, you know that?”

“If I wear so evil, would you have brought me coffee?” Keith said, taking another drink and smirking triumphantly at Lance. Lance opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“You win this round. But remember, Lance always gets his revenge.”

“Oh I’m so scared.” Keith raised his free hand in fear and laughed at Lance’s glare. He leaned forward and kissed his cheek before setting his mug back on the table. “Come on, we gotta finish getting ready for tonight.”

And by getting ready, he meant driving to the store to get drinks while Hunk took care of the cooking. Keith was banned from making meals every sense the spaghetti incident (“How did sauce get on the ceiling?!” Hunk yelled. “Uh, magic?” Keith said, hiding the over boiled pot.”)

Lance had the weirdest taste in music out of everyone Keith knew, and that was saying something because Shiro liked to listen to Swedish rock. His explanation? “If I can’t understand what they’re saying, then I can’t complain about how raunchy the lyrics are.” Keith didn’t have a comeback for that.

The drive out the store wasn’t very long, fifteen minutes at the most, but in that time, they listened to Rihanna, Pierce the Veil, and the classic Sleigh Ride. How they managed to listen to three very different genres of music, Keith would never know. “Why do you have Pierce the Veil on your phone?” Keith asked, pulling into a parking stall.

“Because you somehow infected me with your emo-ness,” Lance replied. Keith shook his head, getting out of the car and immediately stepping in a puddle of slush. Lance laughed at him, and Keith watched Lance jump back as slush was kicked towards him. “Watch yourself Kogane. I’m not above a parking lot slush fight.”

For the sake of being in public, Keith stepped away from the slush, pulling Lance with him into the store. They were immediately hit with a wave of heat and Christmas music, and Keith both sighed from relief and annoyance. He loathed Christmas music.

Lance grabbed a cart and they headed to the soda section. “Alright, we need Coke, Sprite, Pepsi, and Fanta,” Keith said, checking people off in his head. Coke for Shiro and Matt, Pepsi for Adam and him, Sprite for Hunk, and Fanta for Lance and Pidge. They grabbed a two liter of each before moving to the dairy section.

In front of them was a large variety of eggnog: mint eggnog, chocolate eggnog, pumpkin spice eggnog, and peppermint eggnog, to name a few. Too many flavours, as far as Keith was concerned. He forwent the weirder flavours for the classic eggnog and, on a whim, grabbed a carton of peppermint as well. “Might as well try something new,” he said in response to the look he got from Lance.

Keith checked the time: 3:40. The party started in about an hour. In that time, they had to get home, help Hunk plate everything, and shower and change. They didn’t have much time.

They made quick work of getting home, and Keith would admit that he might’ve sped a little on the way, causing Lance to clutch at the handle above the door. But they made it home with no injuries, so he took that as a win.

Keith dropped the drinks off in the kitchen, deciding that showering first was the best option so his hair would have the most time to dry. He was in and out in fifteen minutes, and he scrubbed at his hair, trying to get as much water as possible out of it. Not that he succeeded much; it was still really damp. Instead of trying to fight with the hairdryer, Keith threw his hair into a messy bun, ridding the water from his neck.

“Lance, the shower’s all yours!” he called down the hall as he walked to their bedroom. He heard music blaring from the bathroom as he closed the door, and he walked to the closet. His outfit for the night had already been picked out for him by Lance: his maroon button up, black skinny jeans, and black socks. He was also told he either had to where a Santa hat or a scarf, and he’d gone with his Slytherin scarf in protest to wearing the hat. Not that Lance hadn’t tried to bribe him into wearing it.

***

“Come on Keith. If you wear the hat, I’ll wear that stupid tie you got me,” Lance said, holding the snowman tie in disgust.

Keith crossed his arms, frowning. “You told me you loved that tie when you opened the gift last year.”

“Yeah, out of courtesy. No one would be caught dead in it.”

“And I won’t be caught dead in a Santa hat.”

Lance groaned turning in defeat. “Fine, but I’m burning this tie.”

***

He walked out to find Hunk with a pile of cookies sitting in front of him and several empty platters behind him. The bulk of the food had already been plated and were sitting on the island. Keith walked over to him, gently pushing him away from the food. “You go get changed, I’ll take care of these.” Hunk gave him a suspicious look and Keith laughed.

“I can’t burn already baked cookies. Besides, people should be arriving in the next ten minutes and you still look like a disheveled mess.” Hunk crossed his arms, and Keith rose his in defense. “I say that with all the love in the world. Now get out of here.” Hunk didn’t protest, and Keith was relieved that he hadn’t.

Turning back to the cookies, he rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the platters. He tried to keep them together by type -- chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, sugar -- but somehow they’d managed to make an odd number of them all, so Keith instead went with just filling the platters with as many of them as possible. He ended up with three platters, and he set them in the empty spaces between plates and bowls of delicious smelling food.

Someone knocked as Keith finished rearranging dishes, and he walked over, unrolling his sleeves. He pulled the door and saw Adam and Shiro standing there, each holding a desert of their own. “Hey guys,” Keith said, taking the dishes from them.

“Hey Keith,” Shiro said, trying, and failing, to ruffle his hair. Adam went straight for a hug, and Keith smiled, hugging him back.

They were plowed over by Pidge, and Adam caught the containers as Keith fell. “You act like it’s been months since I last saw you,” Keith muttered, hugging Pidge, who had wrapped their arms tightly around his neck.

“It has been months you jerk. You get your own apartment and are suddenly too busy to hang out with your best friend,” Pidge said, shoving him. Keith laughed, pushing them off of him and standing.

“Not too busy, just busy. You try balancing college and a full time job.” Pidge made a face and Keith offered a hand to them to help them up. They took it, but not before trying to pull Keith back to the ground.

“So if Pidge is your best friend, then what does that make me?” a voice behind him said. Keith turned to see Matt leaning against the door frame.

“That makes you the brother of my best friend, clearly,” Keith said. He pulled Matt into a hug.

They all migrated to the living room, shoes and coats discarded by the door. Keith stood by while the others took in the scene in front of them, and took pride in the wonder struck looks in their eyes. Hunk walked in, wearing a hold button down and black slacks.

“I see the crowd has made it,” he said, eyes scanning the room. “What can I get everyone?” Various shouts for sodas sounded, and Keith and Hunk grabbed their drinks.

When they returned, Lance was sitting on the arm of the couch, leaning against Pidge, who was talking to him about the new Pokemon games. Keith smiled seeing them, and he walked over, setting his share of cups on the table.

“I’m almost done with them, I just have to go through the final cup,” Pidge said.

“Well, I’m sure since you got through all the story and gyms, you’ll be able to sweep through this,” Lance said, tugging Keith towards him. Keith slotted himself against his side, leaning against him.

“See, but I don’t even know what the story is! These games are way different than others. I haven’t even seen the legendaries, and I’m almost done with them” Pidge grumbled.

Lance reached down, ruffling their hair. “Patience, young Pidgeon. I’m sure you’ll figure out the story soon.” Pidge glared up at him and fixed their hair, and Lance leaned away as they tried to muss his.

Lance opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when Hunk started talking. “Okay, so, we can either watch Christmas movies or we can play Cards Against Humanity.” Everyone perked up at that. Playing with all of them there was always an event. The last time, Adam had laughed so hard that they had to take a break so he could compose himself.

“All for movies, raise your hand.” Shiro was the only one to raise his hand. “Alright, Cards Against Humanity it is.” Everyone moved to the floor and Hunk brought the box to the center of the room. Because Shiro had been the only one opposed to the game, he was designated Card Czar first.

-.-.-

The game went exactly as Keith had expected it to - Matt and Pidge getting the most black cards, Adam crying from laughing, and Lance pouting about how no one chose his cards. Keith was content with losing, since it meant he got to see his friends and family laughing and having fun.

They cleaned up the game and migrated to the kitchen, making plates of food before setting up to watch movies. Somehow Matt convinced Hunk and Lance to let them watch Marvel movies instead of Christmas movies: “We all know how Christmas movies ended. Their all so cliche.”

So they started a marathon of movies, starting with Iron Man. Shiro, Adam, and Hunk were settled on the couch, Matt in the chair while Pidge sat in front of him, and Keith and Lance were lounged in front of the couch, next to Hunk. The Christmas lights gave the feel of a movie theatre, and everyone settled in for the evening.

It wasn’t long before Lance had fallen asleep Keith’s arm, and Keith repositioned them so that Lance’s head was in his lap. Hunk offered him a blanket, and Keith took it, laying over Lance. Lance curled into himself, pulling the blanket closer to his chest. Keith couldn’t help but lean down and kiss his temple.

He made it through the first movie before he himself started feeling drowsy. Keith sank lower on the floor and leaned his head against the couch. His eyes drifted closed, and he was aware of a blanket being placed over him as he fell asleep.

-.-.-

When he woke up, they had made it to Thor, but when he looked around the room, he saw that Shiro was the only one still awake. Keith carefully extracted himself from Lance, using his blanket as a pillow for him, and he walked over and sat in front of Shiro.

“How long has everyone been asleep?” Keith whispered, looking up at his brother.

“Adam fell asleep shortly after you did, and the Matt and Hunk a few minutes later. Pidge was the last to fall asleep, and they tried to fight it. But they gave in and fell asleep shortly after Thor started,” Shiro whispered back, looking down at Adam. He was sleeping with his face buried in Shiro’s chest, and Shiro smiled, smoothing his hair back.

Keith nodded, turning back to the movie. He did a quick time check, seeing it was almost eleven. “Think we should wake everyone after the movie?” Keith asked. He heard Shiro make a sound of agreement, and he settled against the couch.

Another hour passed and Thor ended, the credits rolling. Keith stood and stretched, walking back over to Lance. “Babe, come on, it’s time to get up,” he said, shaking him gently. Lance groaned and rolled over, hiding his face. Keith sighed, letting him be.

Shiro had woken Adam and was busy waking Hunk, so Keith walked over to Matt and Pidge. Matt was easy to wake, but he almost got punched by Pidge. “You know I hate being woken up,” Pidge grumbled, scrubbing at their face.

“Yeah, yeah. But you like sleeping in a bed better.” Pidge shook their head, and Keith knew he’d won. He walked back to Lance, who was the only one asleep. “Lance, come on, let’s at least get you to bed.” Lance groaned, sitting up sleepily. Hunk helped him to the bedroom, and Keith could tell that he was just barely awake himself.

The rest of them moved to the door, and they exchanged goodbyes. “Promise you’ll come see us?” Shiro said, hugging him.

“I promise. We’ll go to your house for New Years,” Keith said. Shiro nodded and let go, his spot immediately replaced by Adam. Matt gave him a quick hug, and he pulled a half asleep Pidge towards him.

“Come here you Gremlin.” Pidge grumbled but hugged him back. “I’ll come see you soon.”

“You promise?"

“Yeah, I promise.” That seemed to satisfy them, and they walked towards Matt, using him as a pillow. “Safe travels home guys.”

He closed the door and sighed, feeling drained. He loved his friends and family, but being around them for hours was draining. He did a quick sweep for empty cups and plates, and brought them to the kitchen. Cleaning was a job for tomorrow Keith. Right now, he just wanted to sleep.

Keith walked to his room, closing the door quietly. Lance was curled up on his side of the bed, already asleep, and Keith pulled him into his chest as he laid down. Lance turned, burying his face in Keith’s chest, and Keith kissed the top of his head. He closed his eyes, letting sleep wash over him, a faint smile on his lips. Tonight had been a good night, even if it was Christmas themed.


End file.
